Swiss peanuts grown for first time on large scale

Peanuts grow on a farm in Aargau Keystone-SDA

A farm in Lenzburg, northern Switzerland, is the first in the country to grow peanuts on a large scale. The nuts are processed and sold on site.

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The cantonal director of agriculture, Markus Dieth, sees this as an example of the spirit of innovation in agriculture.

The peanuts are processed on a 100-year-old coffee roasting machine, it was explained at a media event organised by the canton on the Salm family’s farm on Monday. The Salm family markets its peanuts directly from the farm.

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This offers consumers a regional and sustainable alternative to imported goods, they said. Four years ago, the farm planted its first peanuts as a trial. The area under cultivation covers around two hectares.

The peanuts fit into the so-called crop rotation. As legumes, they grow above the ground at the beginning. They are sown from April to the end of May. After fertilisation, the plants sink into the soil. There, 20 to 30 nuts develop per plant. They are ready to harvest after around four months.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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